Gluten Free Monster Cookie Balls

If you need a delicious, filling, nutritious snack that's also simple to make, you need these Gluten Free Monster Cookie Balls! They're the perfect on the go snack or after school snack for kids.

This post is sponsored by ALDI.

When the kids go back to school, you might be looking for a home-run after school snack. Or, you might be tired of spending big bucks on cookie dough texture protein bars. If this is you, then this recipe for Gluten Free Monster Cookie Balls is what you've been looking for.

This was inspired by my kids and this recipe for Blueberry Coconut Energy Bites.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Recipe

Ingredients

The best news about these Gluten Free Monster Cookie Balls is that it uses normal, high quality, affordable ingredients that you can easily find at your local ALDI.

• Dakota’s Pride Garbanzo Beans
• Simply Nature Creamy Peanut butter
• Elevation Protein & Greens powder (optional)
• Simply Nature Wildflower Honey
• Millville Rolled Oats
• Southern Grover Mountain Trail Mix
• Baker’s Corner Mini Semi Sweet Morsels

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

In a food processor bowl, add beans, peanut butter, protein powder, and honey.

Pulse until sandy and well blended (may form a soft ball of dough), about 60-90 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once halfway through. 

Pour bean mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the oats, trail mix and morsels. Stir to combine.

Scoop a ping pong size of dough into your hands and gently squeeze into balls. The mixture may be too crumbly to roll between your palms but will come together when gently squeezed.

Continue making balls until all the dough has been used.

Substitutions

These Gluten Free Monster Cookie Balls can be easily adapted to fit other needs.

• Nut Butter - instead of peanut butter you can use any type of nut butter or seed butter.
• Protein Powder - use any protein powder you would like (I think vanilla flavor works best) or omit it altogether. You can also add 2 scoops of powder to up the protein.
• Chocolate - the trail mix can be swapped out for any nut and dried fruit mix or use a vegan or dairy free chocolate if needed.

With these variations you can make this recipe be nut allergy and dairy allergy friendly. Also be sure to get certified gluten free oats if you have a gluten allergy.

Variations

There are many ways you can adjust this recipe to have endless flavor options.

• Hazelnut - use chocolate hazelnut butter for a deluxe, desert-like version
• No nuts - use more dried fruit or sesame seeds instead of trail mix
• Antioxidant boost - use a ½ cup each blend of shelled pistachios and mixed dried berries

See this Blueberry Coconut Energy Balls recipe for a berry snack bite idea.

Equipment

The most important piece of equipment for this recipe is a food processor. You might be able to get away with a blender, but I can't promise success. My favorite food processor is this Cuisinart 14-cup because I never have overflow problems.

If you need more reasons to buy a food processor, check out these recipes that rely on it: Roasted Carrot and Ranch Hummus, Honey Drizzled Roasted Garlic Hummus, Green Healthy Hummus Recipe, and Roasted Okra with Smoky Red Pepper Ricotta.

I also love using a trigger cookie dough scoop to make these. I use this tool for so many things; it's a very worthy purchase in my opinion.

Storage

These Gluten Free Monster Cookie Balls will store beautifully in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 1 week. While I don't know for sure, I think you could probably freeze these too, then thaw in the fridge.

Top tip

Customize these by using your favorite mix-ins like any type of nut or dried fruit, favorite trail mix, etc.

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Recipe